This is the 12292nd most frequent French word.
écoutant
"Écoutant" means "listener" in English.
Here, 'écoutant' is the present participle of 'écouter', used to express an ongoing action that occurs simultaneously with the main verb.
En écoutant attentivement, on peut apprendre beaucoup.
By listening carefully, one can learn a lot.
In this sentence, 'écoutant' acts as a descriptive phrase explaining the child's action during the main clause.
L'enfant, écoutant sa mère, fit ce qu'elle disait.
The child, listening to his mother, did what she said.
Although not directly using 'écoutant', this illustrates the conjugational use of 'écouter' in a present continuous context.